All stories by Vanessa Thorpe on BroadwayStars

Sunday, July 18, 2021

The show can’t go on: Covid tracking app crippling theatres and venues by Vanessa Thorpe

While capacity crowds are now allowed, productions are being shut down by isolation rules as cast members are ‘pinged’ Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Wes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:03AM
Sunday, June 13, 2021

Historic London theatre to reopen after multimillion-pound restoration by Vanessa Thorpe

Hit musical Jersey Boys will be first show at the 630-seater Trafalgar theatre in the West End The curtain goes up on Monday on at least one piece of certain good news for the troubled West …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM

Edinburgh fringe performers feel ‘jilted’ as Covid closes venues again by Vanessa Thorpe

Only a handful of events will be staged this year as producers complain about ‘dithering’ by council and Scottish government Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus cover…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM
Sunday, April 25, 2021

Theatre newcomers get their chance to shine as London’s West End reopens by Vanessa Thorpe

Impresario Nica Burns is giving 23 young producers their big break with a showcase at top London venues When the curtains finally rise on West End stages again in May, should there really be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:32AM
Sunday, March 28, 2021

Saved: portrait of the queen of dance who changed the course of ballet by Vanessa Thorpe

Donors contribute to buy painting of Tamara Karsavina, co-founder of the London ballet school A rare and valuable portrait of the Russian ballerina Tamara Karsavina, Anna Pavlova’s great r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM
Monday, March 22, 2021

Outdoor shows and decoy audiences herald return of live theatre this summer by Vanessa Thorpe

Small, agile productions are preparing for a May start, as experts predict virtual events will outlast the pandemic Live entertainment is coming back in two halves, much like a traditional n…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM
Sunday, February 21, 2021

Carlos Acosta: ‘There’s a danger we’ll lose a whole generation of young dancers’ by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

The Cuban star talks about his battle to lift spirits at the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the film he has made to rally performers as their stages stay dark When Carlos Acosta, considered one…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Sunday, January 24, 2021

From Oliver! to Golda… new life for long-lost Lionel Bart musical by Vanessa Thorpe

Songs from the composer’s doomed show about the Israeli stateswoman will make their debut online The self-taught musical genius Lionel Bart was the Londoner who first successfully challen…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:36AM
Monday, January 4, 2021

Cash for Cate? Struggling arts groups offer donors online access to stars by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

As Zoom fatigue sets in, organisations are seeking creative ways to bring art to patrons to keep them – and their wallets – engaged A concert from your favourite opera singer, delivered …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AM
Saturday, September 5, 2020

Bryony Kimmings: ‘My opera is like Grayson Perry meets Gareth Malone’ by Vanessa Thorpe

The award-winning performance artist tells why she has penned a libretto starring single mums for a new BBC documentary Bryony Kimmings, the award-winning British performer behind a success…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM
Saturday, August 15, 2020

‘We must give black talent the stage’ says Young Vic's Kwame Kwei-Armah by Vanessa Thorpe

Playwright and director says BLM and the lockdown have prompted him to stage a financially risky season of black work British culture has been guilty of “hoodwinking” black people into t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM
Sunday, July 12, 2020

Theatres saved from bulldozer by new rules in lockdown by Vanessa Thorpe

Communities secretary announces new planning rules forcing councils to take impact of Covid-19 into account Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Empty theatres a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM
Sunday, May 24, 2020

Alan Ayckbourn: 'People went back to theatres after the plague, but they didn't have Netflix then, did they?' by Vanessa Thorpe

Britain’s most prolific playwright is producing and acting in his own audio play, but he holds out little hope for live theatre in the short term Sir Alan Ayckbourn, one of Britain’s mos…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AM
Sunday, April 19, 2020

'It's a horrible time': why Simon Russell Beale fears for future of theatres by Vanessa Thorpe

The star speaks of his panic about the uncertainty of reopening and his sorrow for struggling young actors Simon Russell Beale, one of Britain’s leading Shakespearean actors, has spoken of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AM
Saturday, March 28, 2020

Guardian to stream Hampstead theatre shows during shutdown by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Acclaimed productions will be available to watch on Guardian site as coronavirus outbreak continues Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The Guardian website is…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54PM
Sunday, March 8, 2020

‘For casting purposes I was born in the wrong skin’ – Noughts and Crosses star Paterson Joseph by Vanessa Thorpe

Many black actors leave Britain to find fame, but the Londoner’s BBC lead role follows years of acclaimed work on stage and screen Related: Noughts & Crosses author hits back at race-b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM
Sunday, February 9, 2020

Tom Stoppard reveals that Leopoldstadt may be his last play by Vanessa Thorpe

The acclaimed dramatist, 82, says he is too old to follow up the work inspired by the fate of his recently discovered Jewish familySir Tom Stoppard, Britain’s most celebrated living playwr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AM
Saturday, December 7, 2019

Real-time polling station play The Vote returns for election night by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Catherine Tate, Mark Gatiss and Nina Sosanya star in James Graham and Josie Rourke’s theatrical experiment The play The Vote, a theatrical experiment broadcast live on television on electi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PM
Saturday, July 6, 2019

West End rediscovers the pure joy of farce (and missing trousers) by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Broad stage theatre comedy full of plot twists, puns and frantic action is finding a new audienceThe stage is set like a hotel bedroom where a scantily clad woman is hiding inside a wardrobe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54PM

National Theatre defends asking lesbians to leave bar by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Women claim staff did not ‘like the T-shirts we are wearing’ but NT says the action was ‘a result of a series of disturbances’ The National Theatre has become embroiled in a bitter w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54PM
Saturday, June 22, 2019

From the fringe to Broadway, Tudor musical Six is now a global hit by Vanessa Thorpe

After an Edinburgh debut just 12 months ago, Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow tell of the whirlwind success of their musical about Henry VIII’s wivesTwelve months can be a long time, especially i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Saturday, May 11, 2019

Ex-prisoner’s remixed Othello targets new audiences by Vanessa Thorpe

Hip-hop, grime and urban violence take centre stage in a new production of the Shakespeare tragedyModern street slang, words such as fam, peng, fleek and hench, should be dropped into Shakes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:33PM
Saturday, April 27, 2019

Kurt Weill opera silenced by Nazis to be heard again after 80 years by Vanessa Thorpe

Comic work by German composer has been reinterpreted for modern audiencesGerman composer Kurt Weill is ranked high among the best of the 20th century and his music remains popular outside th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:30AM
Sunday, March 24, 2019

Hamilton’s young star says Britain must confront its colonial past by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Jamael Westman explains how his role in the West End show has affected his politics as well as his careerThe swift rise to fame of Jamael Westman, leading man in the London cast of the hit m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:00AM
Saturday, March 16, 2019

’Allo ’allo? Fake accents strike duff note as actors keep it real by Vanessa Thorpe

Whether it’s Russian or simply ‘northern’, directors face new hurdles in the casting of ‘authentic’ speaking rolesWhen Scottish film star Sean Connery delivered his lines in the 19…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:00PM
Saturday, March 9, 2019

Tracy Ann Oberman: why I want to play ‘difficult’ Shylock by Vanessa Thorpe

Star who is taking legal action on antisemitic trolling will take role in Merchant of Venice that shifts setting to London’s East EndTracy Ann Oberman, the actress at the centre of a legal…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:00AM
Saturday, October 13, 2018

‘Not a terrorist again!’: Typecast actors applaud manual to boost role diversity by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

A new book helps BAME actors shrug off stereotypes and show their real talentsNeed a convincing member of a street gang for a TV show? Or a suspected terrorist for a police interrogation sce…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:06PM
Sunday, September 9, 2018

New life for historic theatre as it faces up to ‘slave trade’ past by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Bristol’s Old Vic confronts its controversial 250-year-old past on its relaunch after a £25m faceliftOne of the oldest theatres in Europe, Bristol Old Vic, is finally to have a proper fro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Monday, August 27, 2018

‘Fun, daft, geeky’: Edinburgh’s top comedy winner by Vanessa Thorpe and Veronica Lee

Rose Matafeo’s take on twentysomething life is toast of the FringeNew Zealander Rose Matafeo has won the coveted best comedy show award at the Edinburgh festival fringe. Steve Coogan, one …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:18AM
Saturday, August 25, 2018

Rose Matafeo wins Edinburgh best comedy show award by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

New Zealander’s show about sex and modern social mores scoops top comedy gongThe New Zealander Rose Matafeo has won the coveted best comedy show award at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.Her …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM

British choreographer and mime Lindsay Kemp dies by Vanessa Thorpe Observer Arts and Media Correspondent

Influential avant garde creative force who worked with David Bowie dies in Italy, aged 80Lindsay Kemp, the experimental British choreographer and mime, who made his name in the 1960s and col…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards